OSA Installs Martin Audio in Lagunitas Brewery

OSA International, Inc. recently deployed a Martin Audio CDD speaker system for the Tasting Tour at the Lagunitas Brewery in Chicago’s Douglas Park neighborhood in North Lawndale.

Founded in 1993 in the town of the same name, the Lagunitas Brewery is now located in Petaluma, Azusa, Seattle and Charleston, in addition to Chicago. The company is now one of the leading craft breweries in the country, and is known for its unique interpretations of traditional beer styles with humorous descriptions and stories on its packaging.

The Chicago brewery tour is a popular attraction in the city and OSA was recently called in to replace the original sound system for the walking tour. According to project manager Brandon Gardner, “the guided tour is on a catwalk––there are several levels to the facility, with the brewery and bottling plant on the ground floor and the catwalk above. The tour has four zones where the tour guide stops and explains the process for brewing, fermenting, bottling and canning the beer.

“Originally,” Brandon continues, “the system consisted of powered speakers that tended to clip, which caused complaints from visitors not being able to hear what the tour guide was saying, especially when groups were more than 100 people.

“So, a major concern was getting clarity from the front where the tour guide stands all the way to the back of the crowd. Plus, we had to control the sound going off the catwalk so that the tour would not disturb the people working below in the brewery and bottling facilities.”

To upgrade the system, Brandon opted for Martin Audio CDD10 10”compact coaxial, differential dispersion speakers, one in each zone with two in the bottling and canning area to compensate for the additional noise coming from the floor. The speakers were mounted horizontally with the drivers rotated to achieve optimum coverage in that zone as well. A BSS digital controller was added at each zone so tour guides could adjust the volume locally.

Asked about his choice, Brandon responds, “The CDD speakers offer exceptional clarity especially in the high frequency range because of the coaxial drivers and differential dispersion technology. Plus, they offer the most consistent performance I’ve heard. That, and the form factor is well suited to a variety of mounting solutions.

“Our client is very happy with the CDD’s performance––he is excited about the speakers. Everyone on the tour can now hear clearly and there have been no noise complaints from below the catwalk. It’s win-win for everyone.”